Chapter 6 - Bianca Needed One More Signature
The unsigned agreement was not enough to give Bianca control.
That mattered.
Lorenzo had signed acknowledgment pages, but the final execution page required a separate signature with a notary present.
Vincent confirmed it with counsel.
“So she still needs you,” he said.
Lorenzo sat near the penthouse windows, sunglasses removed in the privacy of the study.
Vincent stood across from him.
“What does she get if I finish it?”
“Temporary management authority over several personal accounts, access to investment distributions, and the right to approve certain asset transfers during your medical incapacity.”
Lorenzo frowned.
“I’m not incapacitated.”
“Blindness and mobility problems do not make you incapacitated.”
“Exactly.”
Vincent continued.
“The document doesn’t declare you incompetent. It says you voluntarily delegate authority while you recover.”
Lorenzo leaned back.
That was smarter.
Bianca did not need to convince a court he had lost mental capacity.
She needed Lorenzo himself to sign away temporary control.
Then she could move money within the limits he granted.
“Penthouse?”
“Not transferred.”
“Company?”
“No voting control.”
Lorenzo exhaled.
Good.
The story did not need to become larger than it was.
Bianca wanted access to money and lifestyle security.
Not an empire.
That somehow made her earlier confession more believable.
I married you for what you own.
Literal.
Simple.
Ugly.
Vincent said:
“She scheduled a notary for Friday.”
Lorenzo turned his head sharply.
“How do you know?”
“The attorney’s assistant called the penthouse to confirm.”
“Bianca told me Friday was a home-care reassessment.”
Vincent stared at him.
There it was again.
Same event.
Two stories.
Lorenzo looked toward the bright window.
He could see Vincent now as a dark shape against it.
Shoulders.
Head.
One arm moving when he spoke.
Still not enough for faces.
But more than four days ago.
“Thursday I see Kerr,” Lorenzo said.
“Bianca cannot know.”
Vincent hesitated.
“Why keep playing this out?”
“Because I want to know whether she lies even when she doesn’t need to.”
“She already has.”
“I know.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
Lorenzo turned toward him.
“To know whether there is anything left in my marriage besides the lie.”
Vincent looked frustrated.
Then sad.
That answer sounded less like strategy and more like grief.
Lorenzo had married Bianca fourteen months earlier.
The relationship was fast.
Intense.
Bianca seemed impressed by his ambition but not intimidated by it.
She challenged him in restaurants.
Laughed at his worst jokes.
Told him the Duca family took itself too seriously.
Vincent disliked her from the beginning.
Lorenzo assumed that was because Vincent disliked everyone new.
Maybe he was wrong.
Maybe he was not.
But Lorenzo needed to understand whether Bianca had married him with calculation from day one or whether the accident had turned greed into opportunity.
The distinction would not save the marriage.
It still mattered to him.
That evening Bianca returned carrying shopping bags.
She walked into the living room and kissed his cheek.
“Miss me?”
Lorenzo wore the sunglasses again.
“Terribly.”
She laughed.
Then set something on the table.
“Friday morning, someone from the care company is coming.”
“Why?”
“Final paperwork.”
Lorenzo felt his brother’s warning settle into place.
“Medical?”
“Yes.”
He waited.
Bianca added:
“Then we’re done with paperwork for a while.”
Lorenzo turned his head toward her voice.
“You promise?”
For the first time since his vision began returning, he saw enough to recognize the pale shape of Bianca’s face against her dark hair.
No features.
No expression.
But he knew she was close.
“Of course,” she said.
Then she kissed his forehead.
Lorenzo remained still.
Friday was not medical.
May you like
The notary was not from a care company.
And Bianca had just lied when a single truthful sentence could have saved the last thing Lorenzo was still hoping existed between them.
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